The Stars Come Out for Election 2002

The end is in sight for those who have tirelessly pressed the flesh and kissed the babies.

The German election campaign trails are heading to Berlin for September 22nd where the answer to the all important question will be awaited with bated breath - who will be Chancellor?

With the media following every move, candidates are taking care to make positive impressions of themselves and those who support them.

And what better way to boost the push for the Bundestag or lower house of parliament than to have on board seasoned professionals, those who are no strangers to the bright lights of publicity's glare.

Stoiber goes for sport, glamour and a talk show host

Following that logic, the Christian Democrats have enlisted a trio of German 'stars' to help promote conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber's campaign for election. Olympic toboggan champion Georg "Schorsch" Hackl (right), Germany's 1956 Miss World Petra Schürmann and talk show host Joachim Fuchsberger are seen by the CDU/CSU public relations strategists as the 'Dream Ticket'.

Under the conservatives' motto 'Heads for Stoiber', these goliaths from the worlds of showbiz and sport have lent their support to the campaign to get the Bavarian Prime Minister into Germany's top job in Berlin come the end of the month.

Sasha, Klinsmann and Günter Grass lend SPD support

Not to be outdone by their rivals, the Social Democrats have gathered iconic supporters from popular and high culture. Ex-football star and former World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann, teen heart-throb and pop singer Sasha (left) and Günter Grass, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, have joined forces to promote incumbent Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's campaign of 'A Modern Chancellor for a Modern Country'.

It all seems very glitzy for a country well known for its serious approach to politics. It could be seen as being, well, very American.

A touch of American glitz on the campaign trail

Presidential elections of the past in the United States have been star-studded affairs, particularly the 1996 campaign, when Bill Clinton played his saxophone for a Democrat rally filled with film stars and prominent personalities. Beamed across the whole country, the exercise cemented Clinton's image as a breath of fresh air in a somewhat stuffy race for the White House. It worked and he won.

The CDU and SPD lack the financial clout of the American campaigns but both parties have seen that glamour and image are increasingly important in today's political climate. Not only do issues and manifestos win votes, but also the array of stars that you drape around your campaign bus.

Celebrity support goes back decades

Roping in stars for election campaigns is not an entirely new phenomenon in Germany. Being able to hit the right nerve with the populace has always been key and celebrity endorsement can be traced back to the summer of 1969 when the SPD rolled out movie star Romi Schneider, historian and author Golo Mann and campaign stalwart Günter Grass who three years later turned out for the Social Democrat leader at the time, Willy Brandt.

Today, the importance of bold, beautiful and prominent supporters cannot be overlooked. Floating voters who may be disillusioned by the topics of the day may be influenced by a personality they respect.

Both leaders in the current push for government continue to spot the photo opportunities and appear balanced and relaxed on screen, but the telling factor between them may just be whose stars shine the brightest.